Pick and pick weft replenishing loom



' July 12, 1938. R. G. T-URNER 2,123,321

ncx AND PICK WEFT'REPLENISHING LOOM Filed Oct. 1, 1956 5 sheets-sheet 1 o o lnventov Richard Breemeai Turner Attorney July 12, 1938. TURNER 2,123,321 I PICK AND 'PICK WEFT REPLENISHING LOOM Inventor Richavd (1r eemeai Turner Attovney July'12, 1938.

R. G. TURNER PICK AND PICK WEFT REFLENISHING LQOM Filed 061;. l, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor Richard Greemea Turner Attor v y Patented July 12, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Richard Greenleaf Turner, Worcester, Mass, as-

signor to Crompton &

Worcester, Mass, a corporation setts Knowles Loom Works,

of Massachu- Application October 1, 1936, Serial No. 103,544

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in multicolor weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide means to coordinate the detecting and transferring operations with the shifting of the boxes in a pick and pick loom by a control exercised through the pattern surface.

In my prior Patent No. 2,058,113 I have shown an automatic pick and pick loom provided with a bobbin changing magazine operative to replace a depleted bobbin in a temporarily raised shuttle box with a reserve bobbin. As shown therein the type of loom to which my present invention re-' lates operates with a sequence of shuttle box movements which require each of a pair of shuttle boxes at the replenishing end of the loom to be in picking position for two successive beats and then in non-picking position for the next two successive beats of the loom, four beats being required for a complete cycle of box movements at that end of the loom. As a consequence of this operation there would be a shuttle in the idle box for the greater part of two beats of the loom, making it possible to detect during'the early part of the interval of idleness and to replenish thereafter during the same interval.

As shownin that application the detector and magazine are controlled by a four-pick cam driven by one of the main shafts of the loom, but since the boxes are controlled by a pattern surface which can be moved independently of the loom shaft there is the possibility that the cam will act at the wrong point in the cycle of 'box shifting.

It is an important object of my present invention to drive the cam by some part which neces-' sarily moves with. the. pattern surface. In this way all possibility of the box sequence being out of step with the. controlling cam is eliminated and the replenishing features will be properly related to the shuttle boxes at all times.

It is a further object of my present invention to provide an improved control for the transfer latch, this control being simpler than that shown in my aforesaid application and eliminating the necessity for moving the detector against a part which in turn controls the transfer latch.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a pick and pick loo mhaving my invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 2, but on a larger scale and showing the parts in a different position. i

The invention to be described hereinafter is used in conjunction with a loom having two shifting shuttle boxes on one end and a plurality of shifting shuttle boxes on the other end'. The loom has a pattern surface which determines the sequence of box motions in such a way as to require the presentation of a different shuttle for picking each beat of the loom. In my previously mentioned application I describe a sequence of three shuttles to be picked from four shuttle boxes, two at each end of the loom, and in that instance twelve beats of the loom were required to complete the cycle of box shifts so that any one shuttle would be back in the same box and the latter in the same position as. at the beginning of the cycle. The invention is not limited however to a loom having only four boxes but can be used with a loom having any desired number of shuttle boxes at the non-replenishing end so long as there are two boxes at the magazine end which are in up position for two consecutive beats of'the loom and then down for two consecutive beats, these four beats constituting the full cycle of box movements at that end of the loom. It is not deemed necessary to set forth in detail herein the successive movements of the boxes and shuttles since they will be substantially the same in character as those described in the aforesaid application, and it is accordingly deemed sufficient for the purposes of the present description to state that the shuttle boxes at the magazine end move as hereinbefore described, the boxes starting their shift when the lay is approximately at the bottom center position and moving forwardly and completing their shift when the lay is at top center and moving rearwardly, and then remaining at rest with respect to the lay for approximately one and one-half picks of the loom. I

Referring to the drawings, I have shown a loom Ill having a lay ll provided with a gang of four shuttle boxes I2 at the left end supported by a box lifter rod [3, and having upper and lower shuttle boxes M and I5, respectively, at the opposite end to be moved by another box lifter rod I6. The lay moves backwardly and forwardly in the loom by a connector I! driven from the top shaft IS. The lay has an intermediate box 20 which does not receive a shuttle at any time but is supplied with a baffle plate 2! disposedunder the upper box I4 to receive and direct forwardly the outgoingbobbin at the time of transfer.

The arches 25 support a so-called Knowles head K having upper and lower mutilated gear cylinders 26 and 21, respectively, which are driven in opposite directions and given a complete rotation for each beat of the loom. Vibrator levers, one of which is indicated at 28, may also be provided with vibrator gears 29 for cooperation with the oylinders'26 or 21.

A reversible pattern cylinder shaft 30 is mounted in the frame 3| of the Knowles head and has secured thereto a relatively large gear 32 driven by a pinion 33 which in the present instance has one-sixth the number of teeth of the large gear. The pattern shaft 30 receives a complete rotation every six beats of the loom and the pattern chain is therefore advanced by an amount corresponding to a 60 motion of the shaft 30 for each beat of the loom. The head may be of usual construction and substantially the same as that set forth in Re-issue Patent No. 1,784 to L. J. Knowles except as modified for my present purposes and the pattern chain 35 may be constructed'as is usual in looms of the type-set forth herein so that the boxes at both ends of the loom can be given the shifting motions as already set forth. There is indicated at the upper left hand part of Fig. 1 an upright shaft 36 which has a driving connection with some part in time with the crank shaft I8, and it is in this way that the pinion 33 is caused to rotate once for each beat of the loom.

In carrying my present invention into effect I secure to the frame 3| a bearing'40 for a shaft 4| having secured thereto a miter gear 42 meshing with a second miter gear 43 secured to a stub shaft 44. The latter has fastened thereto a gear 45 which meshes with an idle pinion 46 also meshingwith the gear 32. The gear 45 in the present instance has two-thirds as manyteeth as the gear 32, so that when the latter gear has moved sufficiently to advance the pattern chain four links to complete the cycle of box shifts at the replenishing end, the gear 45 will be given a complete rotation to effect a full rotation of shaft 4|.

It will be seen from the matter described in connection with the upper left hand part of Fig.

1, that any movement of the pattern cylinder.

shaft 30 to move the pattern chain 35 either forwardly or backwardly will necessarily be accompanied by a corresponding movement on the part of the gear 45 and it is for this reason that shaft 4| is always in time with the pattern chain 35 which determines the sequence of the box shifts through mechanism not set forth herein but well understood.

The right end of shaft 4| is journaled in a bearing 50 carried by the loom arch and has secured thereto a sprocket 5| for a chain 52 to drive a second sprocket 53 rotatable with a shaft 54. The latter has secured thereto a cam 55 having a single lobe 56 and a second cam 51 having a low area 58 and a much longer high area 59. These two cams have one complete rotation for each four beats of the loom because of the fact that sprockets 5| and 53 are of equal size. An idle sprocket 60 may be provided to keep the chain 52 taut.

At the replenishing side of the loom I provide a plate 65 held to the loomside and having mounted thereon in the present instance a single stack magazine M the foot 66 of which may be bolted to the plate 65. This magazine has a downwardly inclined guideway 61 which terminates in a delivery throat 68 constructed to hold the lowermost bobbin B in position for transfer under 2 transferrer 69 pivoted as at 10 with respect to the plate 65.

Arms 1| of the transferrer 69 have pivoted thereto as at 12 a latch holder 13 for a transfer latch 14 notched as at 15 to receive a bunter 16 projecting rearwardly from the lay. The latch 14 is operated on the backward stroke of the lay so that transfer of the bobbin from the magazine by the transferrer 69 is effected when the lay is in its rearmost or so-called back center position. The latch holder 13 is pivotally connected as at 11 to a normally raised link 18. The latch is normally down in the full line position shown in Fig. 3 but when a transfer is to take place link 18 is depressed by mechanism to be described to swing the latch and its holder about the center 12 to the dotted position shown in Fig. 3, where the latch will be in the path of the bunter 16 as the lay moves rearwardly.

A lever is pivoted as at 8| to the plate 65 and carries a roll 82 to engage the cam 55, being held against the cam by a spring 83. A stud 85 carried by the lever 80 extends into a slot 86 in a latch actuator 81. A spring 88 interposed between the actuator and the upper part of the lever 80 holds the lower part of the slot 86 normally against the stud 85. The slot is inclined as indicated in Fig. 3 while the left end of the actuator is mounted for sliding movement with respect to a guide 90 fixed on the plate 65. The actuator has a plate I20 held thereto for longitudinal adjustment by screws I 2| in a slot I22, and said plate has a notch 9| for a purpose to be described. The cam lobe 56 swings lever 80 from the full to the dotted line position of Fig. 3 every fourth beat of the loom when the lay is on front center and the shuttle boxes are up and at rest with respect to the lay. This right hand movement of lever 80 will normally cause an idle motion of the actuator 81 to the right from the full line position shown in Fig. 3.

The weft detector I00 is of the side slipping type and is mounted on the lower end of arm I0| of a lever I 02 pivoted as at I03 to the magazine frame. A spring I 04 tends to hold the arm IOI to the right as viewed in Fig. 3, motion of the arm being limited by the stop screw I05 which can be moved to variously adjusted positions. An arm H0 is secured to lever I02 and extends generally horizontally and then downwardly to the right. A detent H5 is adjustable by means of screws H6 in a slot II1 formed in the lower end of arm H0 and is adapted to enter the notch 9| of the actuator 81.

A lever I25 is movable about a fixed axis I26 and has an arm I21 to cooperate with cam 51. This lever has a second arm I28 having a later ally projecting lug I29 which extends over the arm IIO. When the arm I21 is opposite the low dwell 58 the spring I04 can operate to move the detector I00 into the upper shuttle S to detect the condition of weft therein, but when the high dwell 59 engages arm I21 lever I25 is rocked in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 to cause the lug I29 to depress the arm H0 and thereby effect movement of the detector I00 to the left or away from the shuttle S to a nondetecting position. This latter position is maintained for three consecutive beats of the loom and then the low dwell 58 permits the detector to have its detecting operation by reason of the action of spring I04.

It is believed that the operation of the mechanism will be apparent from the foregoing description. Cam lobe 56 rocks lever 80 to the right at the same time that l the detector: is. detecting: the condition of weft and if there is suificientweft for continued weaving the arm IIIiI will be. swung to the left tovmove'detent. I:I5- down outof notch 9I The actuatorv 81 can therefore move to the right on its idle normal stroke. When the detector indicates weftexhaustion, however, arm I'IlIZWill receiveno substantial motion and detent I I 5 I will remain in notch 91, the position it assumes when. arm I21 descends: to thelow dwell 58 As the lobe 56: thereafter rocks lever 8|]. to theright the actuator will be arrested against further right hand motion by the: detent, and. as the lug 58 moves from the full to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3 it will act. on the right handinolined edge of the slot to cause a down motion of the actuator from. the full. to the dotted position of Fig. 3 against the action of spring 88. This depresses the link 'Ia'tocause rocking of the latch holder to lift the latch into transferring position. Lobe 56. is. of sufiicient length to hold the latch in transfer position until the hunter I6 canenter notch I5 7 and cause transfer.

It is to be understood that the cams are so related that the detent has time to arrive into the path of notch 9 I- before the actuator 81 moves the detent any appreciable distance. The cams, by their timing, require a detecting operation when the lay is in forward position with the boxes up and effect; a transfer half a beat later as the lay swings: rearwardly with the boxes still raised and at rest with respect tothelay. As soon as the high dwell ES'again arrives under the arm I21, the lug I2-9is. depressedto lower the arm III], thereby moving the detent II5 downwardly away fro-m and out of the notch 9| to permit the spring 88 to reset the parts'to their normal full lineposition of Fig, 3.

In order that the detector may be prevented from operating when the loom is at rest I provide the structure shown in Figs. Zand 3,. wherein the. shipper handle; I'3Iloperates a lever I3I connected to a rearwardly extended rod I32 carrying a collar I33. attached to an upwardly and forwardly extending rod I34. This rod is connected to a. lever I35 pivoted about the axis I26; and having a lug I33 lying over the arm I28. The parts are so proportioned, asv willbe evident from Fig. 2, that when the shipper handle I30 is moved forwardly or to the left, lever I3I will be rocked. in a right. hand direction to cause forward motion of the rod I32 and thereby rock lever I35 ina clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 to lift the lug I36 and thereby permit arms I-28 and I luto rise when arm I2! falls to the low dwell 58. When the loomis stop-ped,. however, the shipper handle will be moved to the right as viewed in Fig. 2 to cause a rearward motion of rod I32 and a counterclockwise turning of lever I35, with the result that lug. I36 moves. downwardly to depress the levers I10 and I28 to rock lever I02 in a clockwise direction and move the feeler Il'lll forwardly to non-detecting position. This permits the loom to be turned over by hand without operation of the replenishing mechanism at the time of a pickout.

From the foregoing it will be seenv that I have provided simple means'whereby the pattern surface which determines the sequence of box motions is connected by permanent gearing to the cams which control. the detector and transferring operations. By this construction thev loom may be stopped and the head. turned backwardly if necessary to. effect a pickout without disturbing the timed relation between the: boxes and the replenishing. features, and weaving can. be re.-

sumedsat the. end of the pickout without danger of the parts being timed wrongly. This is because of the fact that both feeler and transferrer are controlled from a part which necessarily moves in time with the drive for the pattern chain, whichin turn is always in time with the boxes. It. will also: be seen that the detector controls a lever having a detent to enter a notch in the actuator to alter the normal movement of the latter and effect lifting of the latch when a transfer is called. Furthermore, the shipper handle is. effective to prevent. operation of the transferrer and feeler when the loom is stopped for a pickout Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilledin the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but What I claim is:

1. Inv a loom operating with a plurality of weaving shuttles, a lay, shifting shuttle boxes at each end of the loom which shift with respect to the lay when the latter is in the forward part of its motion and are at rest relatively to the lay when the latter is in the rear part of its motion, a. pattern chain to determine the sequence of movements of the shuttle boxes and cause one set of shifting shuttle boxes tobe at rest with respect to the lay during a forward and the following backward movement of the lay, a reserve bobbin magazine, transfermechanism for the magazine to move a reserve bobbin from the magazine into one of the boxes of said one set when the lay is in rear position, a weft detector to determine the condition of weft in said one box when the lay is in. its forward position and said one box is at rest relatively to the lay, means moving in timed relation with the pattern chain to render the detector effective to detect every fourth beat of the loom when the lay is forward, a. controller for the transfer mechanism, means moving in timed relation withthe pattern chain capable of giving the controller an operative motion to set the transfer mechanism for transfer every fourth beat of the loom when the lay is moving rearwardly immediately subsequent to indication of exhaustion. by the detector, and means controlled by the detector to cause the actuator to have any operative movement with respect to the magazine when the detector indicates exhaustion.

2. In a loom operating with a plurality of weaving shuttles, a lay, shifting shuttle boxes at each. end of the loom which shift with respect to the lay when the latter is in the forward part of its motion and are at rest relatively to the lay when thelatter is in the rear part of its motion, a pattern chain to determine the sequence of movements of the shuttle boxes and cause one set of shifting shuttle boxes to be at rest with respect to the; lay during a forward and the following backward movement of the lay, a reserve bobbin magazine, transfer mechanism for the magazine to. move a reserve bobbin from the magazine into one of the boxes of said one set when the lay is in rear position, a weft detector to determine the condition of weft insaid one box when the lay is in its forward position and said one box is at rest relatively to the lay, means moving in timed relation with the pattern chain and operative every fourth beat of the loom when the lay is forward to cause the detector to have a detecting movement, a controller for the transfer mechanism, means moving in timed relation with the pattern chain to give the controller either an idle or working stroke every fourth beat of the loom when the lay is moving toward its rear position immediately after a detecting operation by the detector, and mechanism controlled by the detector when indicating weft exhaustion to cause the last named means to give the controller a working stroke and set the transfer mechanism for operation of the magazine during the backward movement of the lay.

3. In a loom operating with a plurality of weaving shuttles, a lay, shifting shuttle boxes at each end of the loom which shift with respect to the lay when the latter is in the forward part of its motion and are at rest relatively to the lay when the latter is in the rear part of its motion, a pattern chain to determine the sequence of movements of the shuttle boxes and cause one set of shifting shuttle boxes to be at rest with respect to the lay during a forward and the following b-ackward movement of the lay, a reserve bobbin magazine, transfer mechanism for the magazine to move a reserve bobbin from the magazine into one of the boxes of said one set when the lay is in rear position, a weft detector to determine the condition of weft in said one box when the lay is in its forward position and said one box is at rest relatively to the lay, means moving in timed relation with the pattern chain to give the detector a detecting operation when the lay is in its forward position every fourth beat of the. loom, a controller for the transfer mechanism capable of having idle and working strokes, means operating in timed relation with the pattern chain to give the controller either an idle or a working stroke every fourth beat of the loom as the lay movcs rearwardly immediately subsequently to an indicating movement of the detector, means controlled by the detector to cause the controller to have a working stroke when the detector indicates weft exhaustion, and means interposed between the controller and the transfer mechanism to operate the latter when the controller has a working stroke.

4. In a loom operating with a plurality of weaving shuttles, a lay, shifting shuttle boxes at each end of the loom which shift with respect to the lay when the latter is in the forward part of its motion and are at rest relatively to the lay when the latter is in the rear part of its motion, a pattern chain to determine the sequence of movements of the shuttle boxes and cause one set of shifting shuttle boxes to be at rest with respect to the lay during a forward and the following backward movement of the lay, a reserve bobbin magazine, transfer mechanism for the magazine to move a reserve bobbin from the magazine into one of the boxes of said one set when the lay is in rear position, a weft detector to determine the condition of weft in said one box when the lay is in its forward position and said one box is at rest relatively to the lay, a cam to control the times of detecting by the detector, a controller for the transfer mechanism, a cam to operate the controller, means moving in timed relation with the pattern chain to give both of said cams complete motions every fourth beat of the loom, and connections between the detector and the controller to be established when the detector indicates weft exhaustion and render the controller effective to set the transfer mechanism to cause operation of the magazine.

5. In a loom operating with a plurality of weaving shuttles, a lay, shifting shuttle boxes at each end of the loom which shift with respect to the lay when the latter is in the forward part of its motion and are at rest relatively to the lay when the latter is in the rear part of its motion, a pattern chain to determine the sequence of movements of the shuttle boxes and cause one set of shifting shuttle boxes to be at rest with respect to the lay during a forward and the following backward movement of the lay, a reserve bobbin magazine, transfer mechanism for the magazine to move a reserve bobbin from the magazine into one of the boxes of said one set when the lay is in rear position, a weft detector to determine the condition of weft in said one box when the lay is in its forward position and said one box is at rest relatively to the lay, a shaft rotating in timed relation with the pattern chain, connections between the pattern chain and the shaft to give the latter a complete rotation every fourth beat of the loom, connections between the shaft and the detector to render the latter operative every fourth beat of the loom when the lay is in forward position, a controller for the transfer mechanism capable of having idle or working strokes, connections between the controller and the shaft to give the controller either an idle or a working stroke every fourth beat of the loom as the lay moves rearwardly immediately after a detecting operation by the detector, means controlled by the detector when the latter indicates weft exhaustion to cause the controller to have a working stroke, and means to cause the transfer mechanism to have a transferring operation when the controller has a working stroke.

6. In a loom operating with a plurality of weaving shuttles, a lay, shifting shuttle boxes at each end of the loom which shift with respect to the lay when the latter is in the forward part of its motion and are at rest relatively to the lay when the latter is in the forward part of its motion and are at rest relatively to the lay when the latter is in the rear part of its motion, a pattern chain to determine the sequence of movements of the shuttle boxes and cause one set of shifting shuttle boxes to be at rest with respect to the lay during a forward and the following backward movement of the lay, a reserve bobbin magazine, transfer mechanism for the magazine to move a reserve bobbin from the magazine into one of the boxes of said one set when the lay is in rear position, a weft detector to determine the condition of weft in said one box when the lay is in its forward position and said one box is at rest relatively to the lay, a controller for the transfer mechanism, a shaft moving in timed relation with the pattern chain, means connected to the pattern chain to cause the shaft to have a complete rotation every fourth beat of the loom, a cam on the shaft, con nections between the cam and detector to render the latter operative to detect weft every fourth beat of the loom when the lay is forward, a second cam on the shaft, means connecting the second cam and controller to give the latter either a working or an idle stroke every fourth beat of the loom when the lay moves rearwardly immediately after a detecting operation of the detector, means to cause an operation of the transfer mechanism as the lay moves rearwardly when the controller has a working stroke, and means to cause the controller to have a working stroke when the detector indicates weft exhaustion.

7. In a loom operating with a plurality of weaving shuttles, a lay, shifting shuttle boxes at each end of the loom which shift with respect to the lay when the latter is in the forward part of its motion and are at rest relatively to the lay when the latter is in the rear part of its motion,

a reversible pattern chain to determine the sequence of movements of the shuttle boxes and one set of shifting shuttle boxes to be at rest with respect to the lay during a forward and the following backward movement of the lay, a reserve bobbin magazine, transfer mechanism for the magazine to move a reserve bobbin from the magazine into one of the boxes of said one set when the lay is in rear position, a weft detector to determine the condition of Weft in said one box when the lay is in its forward position and said one box is at rest relatively to the lay, reversible means moving in timed relation with the pattern chain to have a complete rotation every fourth beat of the loom, a controller for the detector operated by said means every fourth beat of the loom to render the detector capable of having a detecting operation when the lay is in forward position, a second controller for the transfer mechanism operated by said means every fourth beat of the loom as the lay moves rearwardly to give the second controller either a working or an idle stroke, mechanism controlled by the detector when indicating Weft exhaustion to cause the second controller to have a working stroke, and means to cause a transferring operation of the transfer mechanism when the second controller has a working stroke.

8. In a loom operating with a plurality of weaving shuttles, a lay, shifting shuttle boxes at each end of the loom which shift with respect to the lay when the latter is in the forward part of its motion and are at rest relatively to the lay when the latter is in the rear part of its motion, a reversible pattern chain to determine the sequence of movements of the shuttle boxes and cause one set of shifting shuttle boxes to be at rest with respect to the lay during a forward and the following backward movement of the lay, a reserve bobbin magazine, transfer mechanism for the magazine to move a reserve bobbin from the magazine into one of the boxes of said one set When the lay is in rear position, a weft detector to determine the condition of weft in said one box when the lay is in its forward position and said one box is at rest relatively to the lay, reversib-le means moving in timed relation with the pattern chain, a drive between the chain and the means to give the latter a complete rotation every fourth beat of the loom, a reversible cam on said means, control connections between the cam and the detector operative every fourth beat of the loom as the lay moves forwardly to render said detector capable of having a detecting movement, a second cam on said means, a controller for the transfer mechanism capable of having either idle or working strokes, control connections between the second cam and the controller to give the latter either an idle or a Working stroke every fourth beat of the loom as the lay moves rear- Wardly immediately after an operation of the detector, means to cause the controller to have a Working stroke when the detector indicates Weft exhaustion, and other means to cause the transfer mechanism to have a transferring operation when the controller has a working stroke, said cams being reversible with the first named means when the pattern chain is reversed to the end that the pattern chain, cams and controlling connections for the detector and actuator are in fixed time relation at all times.

RICHARD GREENLEAF TURNER. 

